Nine

Nine is based on Federico Felllini's semi-autobiographical Eight and a Half. It tells the story of Guido Contini - a well established film director struggling with writer's block. He has the title - Italia - but no script. As he suffers under pressure from his production company he reminisces about all the significant women in his life, looking for inspiration in his past experiences with the other sex. 

At first Nine seems decadent and vacuous - the plot limps along as a vehicle to host Hollywood's greatest stars, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz and Sophia Loren.The songs in Nine are incidental - they are neither catchy nor the showtunes that are heard in other musicals such as Chicago or Moulin Rouge, with some of them coming close to boring. Fergie's performance is the only song that comes close to Nine sounding like a musical, which is no surprise given that she is the only professional singer in the cast. However it's the acting that makes Nine a success. Daniel Day Lewis carries the film almost single-handedly as he plays the self-centred, eloquent and chauvnistic artist on the surface who undernearth fears that his career, and more importantly, his fame is coming to an end. As the film continues it becomes apparent that the disjointed storyline is a deliberate cinematic trait to portray Guido's anxiety and nervousness as he searches for inspiration. If you are looking for a mind-blowing sountrack, I would not suggest going to see Nine, but if you are looking for a film that is interesting yet fun, glamorous and sexy - Nine is just the film.